[COVID third wave] Plea in Bombay High Court seeks administration of vaccine booster shots

Two lawyers have filed a public interest litigation (PIL) before the Bombay High Court seeking directions to the authorities to formulate a policy for administering COVID booster vaccines..The plea by advocates Dhruti Kapadia and Kunal Tiwari, submitted that a third wave of COVID-19 is likely in the country and, therefore, there is an urgent need to have booster doses administered to the citizens at the earliest. Due to festive season, there will be more social gatherings and immediate booster doses may help citizens, the plea said.However, the Central government, State government and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) have not put in place any policy with respect to the same, it was pointed out.“Due to delay unlike citizens internationally who are getting vaccine boosters, there is possibility they will be at higher risk for not getting the booster dose. Due to festive and seasons of greetings there is bound to be more socializing and immediate booster doses may help citizens,” the plea said..The plea appreciated the tremendous work done by the government officials and authorities, but said that the same will not suffice as the authorities will have to provide booster vaccines on priority to ensure that citizens are protected from the deadly virus..The experts involved in this field must roll out the policy covering every section of the people who have taken their second dose long back in March to May 2021 and are due for booster, the petition stated..It further stated that efficacy of two doses of vaccines decreases after three months of receiving the vaccination and increases the chance of infection in such persons against the new variant of the virus.The matter will be mentioned by Kapadia on January 3, 2022 for urgent listing in the coming week. .The plea seeking seeking door-to-door COVID-19 vaccination for senior and specially-abled or bed-ridden citizens was also filed by Kapadia, where Maharashtra government informed the Court that they have formulated a door-to-door vaccination policy on an experimental basis for the elderly and persons with disabilities..Interestingly, the High Court is also hearing a plea challenging the circulars issued by the Maharashtra government prohibiting persons who are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19, from travelling by local trains and permitting only fully vaccinated persons to travel via trains and visit malls and work spaces.The Court asked the State government to explain the rationale behind discriminating between persons who are vaccinated against COVID-19 and those who are not when it comes to access to public spaces.The Chief Secretary of State Debashish Chakrabarty stated in the reply that allowing non-vaccinated persons to mix with vaccinated will endanger the lives of everyone.The High Court is slated to hear that plea on January 3, 2022.